Why navies repeatedly outgrow the small-networked-fleet idea

What recurring naval concept looks attractive but repeatedly proves difficult in practice?

Small networked ship groups repeatedly run into the need for redundancy, capability, maintenance, and support, which pushes ships and costs upward again.

Small vessels promise dispersion and lower apparent cost, so the concept repeatedly returns. Once a navy requires each group to retain capabilities and redundancy, however, the ships grow and their support burden rises. This is a recurring cycle in fleet design rather than a new discovery.